Mom Defends Working Out In Target, Trying To Stay Fit

By: Alexander Burns | May 16, 2019

When Sia Cooper, the mother and fitness fanatic behind the blog ‘Diary of a Fit Mommy’, decided to squeeze in a few sets of lunges and squats in the aisles of an empty Target, she had no idea that her impromptu workout would become the target of online trolls.

The popular fitness and parenting blogger first uploaded the workout video to Instagram, captioning it: "Getting it done in @Target because it’s only the most (magical) place in the entire world (besides Disney World). So, if you saw a weirdo working out in Target today—yup, that was me! Who needs a friggin’ gym."

However, soon after, the Instagram post began to attract an outpouring of criticism. The torrent of abuse only increased after ‘Self Magazine’ published a piece on Ms. Cooper and her unique workout regimen. "Go to your house to work out. You are obstructing the aisle,” wrote one Instagram user.

Other people criticized Ms. Cooper in a more humorous way. "This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen!! Target is a sacred place of awesomeness!! Don't make me feel bad for roaming the aisles while snacking on cheese doodles!!" joked one commenter.

"Who has time to work out in Target…Just shop and spend time with your kid!" recommender another user.

In an interview with ‘Self Magazine’, Ms. Cooper emphasized that she had never intended to insult or aggravate people, saying: “I didn’t want everyone to go grab their shopping carts and get in people’s way and start doing obnoxious workouts in public--"

"It was just a fun message saying ‘Hey, you can literally work out everywhere if you just put your mind to it. Since it’s gone viral, I’ve been dealing with harassment for the last couple of weeks—people coming to my page and saying just the meanest things you could think of.”

As the online negativity continued, the passionate fitness mom, who hails from Destin, Florida, decided to stand her ground. In her latest Instagram post, the blogger uploaded a new workout video, and this time Ms. Cooper was in Walmart.

"So, someone negatively commented yesterday that I should’ve done my video in Walmart because I would’ve fit in better (in regards to my viral Target workout video), referring to the common thought that Walmart is a crazy, trashy place,” she wrote as a caption. “Soooo ... I did! Because that’s how I clapback at my haters.”

The next day, Ms. Cooper struck back at the haters again, uploading a new post with the caption: “WHOLE FOODS WORKOUT Lets go! Grabbed some snacks for the kiddos while grabbing a quick workout, too. Cause why not? @wholefoods #wholefoods”

Ms. Cooper’s defiant response to her critics has been applauded by her supporters and contributors. Speaking to a blogging colleague on Mum.me, Ms. Cooper acknowledged the fallout from her first Target post.

"I kept creating the supermarket workout videos despite the haters to show them that I’m not backing down from what I believe in just because they disagree. Besides, they took a silly and fun video and made it into something way too serious. It was meant to be a joke while relaying the message that, 'Hey, you can multitask and get shit done if you need to.'"